Discovery Island

[old lady]

Was the reason for this attraction being closed?

 

[jbehr12]

Was the reason for this attraction being closed?

Animal Kingdom

 

[kaytieeldr]

Should this thread be on a more appropriate forum? Discovery Island never had any resorts on it, did it?

 

[Spencer Wright]

That place always fascinated me. For those who went, was it worth a visit?

 

[Dave006]

That place always fascinated me. For those who went, was it worth a visit?

No not really for our family. It was an extra ticket per person and it closed (1999) 1 year after AK opened. The name Discovery Island was reused within the AK park. The birds and other animals were move to AK or transferred to other zoos.

Dave

 

[vacationer1954]

You aren't missing anything that isn't available now somewhere else. We visited the original Discovery Island once or twice. It was okay. It was too much of a trug for most people to do so and I cannot imagine there were enough visitors to justify its existence. I originally thought it was strange that they moved the name of the island to Animal Kingdom Park, but it actually makes sense when you realize just how much of Discovery Island at Animal Kingdom Park is devoted to animal encounters, including otters, kangaroos, tortoises, macaws, etc.

 

[SamFaniam]

I loved Discovery Island, it was always quiet there. You could just stroll around and see both the animals that were kept there like the parrots, and the animals who resided there naturally. I think because it was a little bit of a hassle to get there, it was never crowded. I think some of the structures are still standing, but no guests are allowed on the island today.

 

[Lynne M]

I’ll move this to the Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies board.

 

[beccasmom]

On our first trip in 1981 we visited Discovery Island. There weren’t a lot of other things to do onsite back then besides the MK, Fort Wilderness (HDDR) and River Country. And golfing and resort pools (not many of them either). I remember we did go offsite a few times - to the “Florida Festival” and Church Street Station.

Discovery Island was an interesting place to visit. It wasn’t an all-day excursion, but it was fine for a few hours. I remember they had picnic tables although I’m unsure if there was anywhere to purchase food (there probably was though).